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5 things WWE RAW got right this week - Charlotte Flair returns; Randy Orton finds an unlikely partner

By Ali Akber Habib
Modified Apr 27, 2021 17:46 IST
Drew McIntyre Got These Hands on WWE RAW this week
Drew McIntyre Got These Hands on WWE RAW this week

Drew McIntyre and Braun Strowman were scheduled to team up on WWE RAW once again this week. The unlikely team were set to avenge their loss at the hands of T-Bar and Mace.

Sheamus returned with another Open Challenge on WWE RAW and looked to successfully kick off his United States Championship reign. Riddle and Randy Orton had another interesting backstage interaction after The Bro defeated The Viper last week. Will the two men stay on the same page for some time?

Damian Priest teamed up with The New Day to defeat The Miz, Jaxson Ryker and Elias in a six-man tag team match. Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler teamed up with RAW Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley to take down Asuka, Naomi and Lana.

The final match of the night led to a big change in the WWE Championship match for WrestleMania Backlash. Let’s take a look at five things WWE got right on RAW this week.

#5 T-Bar and Mace pick up another victory on WWE RAW

WWE RAW started off with a match rather than a promo on Monday night. Mace and T-Bar were set to take on Drew McIntyre and Braun Strowman in a rematch from last week. Surprisingly, the former RETRIBUTION members finally appeared with their masks off, and came out with slightly different appearances.

Strowman made his way out and claimed the match would now be a Handicap Match, as he wanted to take both men on himself. He wanted to show that he could defeat both men without McIntyre's help.

The Monster Among Men took the fight to T-Bar and controlled the match before Mace came into the ring. Both men started attacking Strowman together and the referee called for the bell to end the match in yet another disqualification on WWE RAW.

The Scottish Warrior ran out to make the save this week. This led to the originally-scheduled tag team match soon after. McIntyre and Strowman had the upper hand in the action for most of the match.

But McIntyre hit The Monster Among Men with a clothesline by mistake, and the angle allowed Mace and T-Bar to pick up a count-out victory. Strowman powerslammed McIntyre to end the segment.

T-Bar and Mace are finally coming across as two tough individuals. They’ve gotten rid of their masks, and WWE RAW should allow them to use their old ring names again. The RAW tag team division is thin at the moment and these two powerhouses could certainly help lift the game.

Even though their victories haven’t been too convincing, it’s good to watch T-Bar and Mace pick up consecutive wins over two former World Champions.

#4 Humberto Carrillo finds himself back in the mix on WWE RAW

Sheamus issued an Open Challenge on WWE RAW last week that was answered by Humberto Carrillo. Carrillo hasn’t had much success on RAW in recent months, and it was good to see him come out for a big match.

However, Sheamus ended his hopes by attacking him before the match could even begin. This week, The Celtic Warrior issued another Open Challenge for his United States Championship. Once again, Carrillo answered the challenge in hopes of getting a title match.

The Irishman took another shot at Carrillo and beat him down mercilessly. The babyface recovered this time, and took the fight back to the United States Champion. He hit him with a few dropkicks before sending him over the announce table with a suicide dive.

Surprisingly, the company has decided to bring Carrillo back into the mix when it was least expected. The WWE RAW Superstar is great in the ring, and a rivalry against Sheamus could certainly help him find his footing on the red brand once again.

Carrillo could end up getting a victory over The Celtic Warrior next week, leading to a title match between the two superstars at WrestleMania Backlash.

#3 RKBro takes off on WWE RAW

A nice little face-off between Randy Orton and Riddle on WWE RAW last week led to a match between the two superstars. Riddle surprised the WWE Universe by picking up a victory over Orton.

This week, another backstage segment took place between the two men. Orton admitted that he underestimated The Original Bro. He offered to team up with Riddle to battle Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander.

Riddle started well but soon became the target of the heel team. They kept him grounded for some time and did not allow him to tag Orton into the match. However, The Bro eventually managed to tag Orton and the duo took control from there on.

The Viper nailed Alexander with a beautiful RKO before tagging Riddle into the match. Riddle hit Benjamin with a DDT and then hit the Floating Bro to pick up the victory.

After the match, Riddle tried to hug Orton but The Viper left him to celebrate on his own. This shows that the WWE RAW creative team may be looking to officially turn Orton face sooner rather than later.

While this is an unlikely partnership, it could help elevate the WWE RAW tag team division. Riddle and Orton worked well, and they could team up for a few months, before The Viper ultimately turns on his partner leading to a new feud.

#2 Charlotte Flair makes her way back onto WWE RAW

Last week on WWE RAW, Charlotte Flair lost a match to Asuka due to interference from Rhea Ripley. Flair vented her anger at the referee and was suspended by the higher-ups.

This week, Sonya Deville brought Flair and the referee to the ring for a segment. Deville reminded The Queen why she was suspended and fined, but she also claimed that Adam Pearce rushed his decision. She then allowed Flair to apologize to management, fans, and the referee.

The referee accepted his mistake and claimed that had he seen Ripley interfere, Flair would have won the contest. Deville then lifted Flair’s suspension and welcomed her back to the ring.

However, The Queen showed her heelish side once again and demanded an apology from the referee. The official apologized and held the ropes for her as she left. Pearce was clearly not happy with Deville’s decision to go over his head.

Later on WWE RAW, Deville booked Mandy Rose to compete against Flair. The Queen could not contain her anger throughout the contest and nearly lost the match on one occasion. Finally, Flair hit Rose with the Natural Selection to pick up the victory. But she was once again unhappy with the referee for nearly costing her the match.

The entire segment helped Flair come across as a much bigger heel than before. It also allowed Deville to show a new side to herself in her current role. It will be interesting to see how Flair finds her way back into the WWE RAW Women’s Championship picture.

#1 Braun Strowman punches his ticket to WrestleMania Backlash on WWE RAW

After the events of the first segment on WWE RAW, Drew McIntyre demanded a match against Braun Strowman. But Strowman manipulated Adam Pearce into adding a stipulation to the match.

Thanks to his meddling, Strowman came into the clash with McIntyre with a chance to enter the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania Backlash. The two big men went after each other from the opening bell. After some time, MVP and WWE Champion Bobby Lashley arrived to watch the match up close.

The Monster Among Men hit McIntyre with a Powerslam, but a distraction from Lashley allowed McIntyre to survive the move. T-Bar and Mace then appeared, just when The Scottish Warrior was preparing to hit a Claymore. The distraction allowed Strowman to take advantage and hit McIntyre with another Powerslam to pick up the win.

The victory meant Strowman's addition to the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania Backlash made the match a Triple Threat between himself, McIntyre and Lashley. Both men were good in the ring, and it looks like Strowman may have been added to the mix to protect both McIntyre and Lashley from taking the fall.

This could end up being a smart decision as Lashley cannot afford to take a pinfall after being built so well by WWE RAW creative.